In the early 2000s, NFL up-and-comer Tom Brady was winning Super Bowls while star quarterback Peyton Manning was making commercials and pitching products.
Now, about two decades later, Brady is still winning Super Bowls, but he’s also more than embraced his inner Manning when it comes to cashing in on his fame.
Brady, who already has his TB12 wellness brand, a namesake apparel brand and an NFT platform called Autograph and works as a pitchman for everything from Subway sandwiches to high-end sunglasses, just used the company that holds his brands to file 26 applications with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Filed in early March, the patent applications cover everything from food delivery, bottled water, protein bars, restaurants and retail boutiques to skincare, candles, eyewear, jewelry, furniture and gym equipment, according to Bloomberg.
Josh Gerben, a Washington-based trademark lawyer who tracks filings by athletes, shared a comprehensive list of the extent of Brady’s filings via his Twitter account and wrote that the 44-year-old quarterback has “set his sights on world domination.” After looking at the complete list, which also includes cookbooks, acupuncture services and friggin’ belt buckles, it is hard to quibble with Gerben’s assessment.
“He is going to leverage the value in his name and his brand as much as possible,” Gerben told Bloomberg. “He clearly is one of the most well-known athletes of all time and the value that gets attached to his name is extraordinarily significant.”
The value attached to Brady’s name may increase if he returns to the NFL, possibly as soon as this season, and makes a run at another Super Bowl. While Brady has told the Bucs he will not be back with the team, he is still under contract with Tampa Bay and could be waiting until his successor is signed so he can leverage his way out of town and head to another contender — possibly the San Francisco 49ers.
“That would be a perfect way for Brady to end his career,” Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk, who penned the forthcoming book Playmakers: How the NFL Really Works (And Doesn’t), said in a recent interview with InsideHook. “He goes in, wins a Super Bowl with the 49ers and gives a subtle middle finger to Jimmy Garoppolo, the guy who was supposed to supplant him in New England. It makes too much sense to not happen. People think I’m nuts, but I think Brady’s going to end up playing for the 49ers this year.”
Even if that doesn’t happen and Brady remains on the sidelines (which really doesn’t seem all that likely considering how much cash Aaron Rodgers just got to return to the Packers), he’s certainly put himself in a good position to keep raking in cash for decades to come. He’s still not the breadwinner compared to his wife Gisele Bündchen, but it’s getting closer… one Brady-branded meal kit or deodorant stick at a time.
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